Perhaps most meetings stink because we simply have too many. It’s easy than ever to invite nearly everyone in your company to that meeting the boss told you to have on that topic no one wants to talk about.

As more Millennials enter the workforce, relationship building among co-workers (or team members, or partners or whatever current corporate speak is in fashion) is rapidly gaining in importance. Many people entering new jobs - especially if they're in new places - are looking to their office as a place to develop friendships.

It may not be as repulsive as “smear” or “moist,” but “brainstorming” has become a pretty ugly word in the ears of most. Fortunately not all is lost. Three important facts are often overlooked when we think about “ideation” or “brainstorming” or whatever new corporate speak we can come up with.

Sadly, the idea of a company retreat is one with bad connotations of finger painting creativity classes, trust falls, dull presentations, and unfortunate displays of junior staffers overdoing the open the bar and… well, you get the picture.